Grateful #9: siblings

I have 9 siblings. In my family there are 7 girls and 3 boys, and the girls definitely have strong personalities. As girls we probably like to go out and eat the most. We probably like food way more than we should. As we've grown older we've definitely grown closer, and become friends. I think we're more like friends than sisters. We tease each other, (in fact we say that when we're not teasing you, is when you should be worried) and tell each other almost everything.

My relationship with my brothers is different. I'm grateful to Matthew for being friends with Nolan pretty much his whole life, because if he hadn't we probably wouldn't have wound up together. I'm much closer to Ben now that we both have kids (it's good to have things in common).

We can talk about movies, politics, discuss current events, go on vacations, and not kill each other. So I'm grateful for siblings that are also my friends.

Grateful #8: My parents

I purposefully left family posts closer to Thanksgiving day. Here's a list of why I'm grateful to my parents:

-Without them I wouldn't be here.

-They still buy me things when they go to the store including clothes and food even though I'm married and have kids of my own. (This may sound materialistic but to me it shows they are thinking of me.)

- They baby sit my kids.

- They reassure me that I am not a terrible mother.

- They are fantastic grandparents.

- They taught me how to cook.

As I grow older, and have kids of my own, I realize that parents truly never stop loving their children. I will always be their daughter, and they will always be my parents, whether they like it or not. (hahaha) And they never stop taking care of me. For example, the other day, I was just making the remark that I needed to go to the store to buy milk on Monday, and my mom was like, oh, we have extra milk, just take some, Dad bought extra. So I took some of course, because she would have been insulted if I hadn't.

Grateful #7: Facebook

Facebook is an amazing social network. Without it I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the doing and goings on of my extended family. I've had friends move all across the country and I still can keep up with them on a day to day basis because of facebook. I can see their pictures instantly, offer condolences, offer congratulations, offer advice, ask for advice, etc. Some might say that Facebook has no redeeming qualities, but I say those people have not looked and indeed might not want to look and might only want to see the bad. But Facebook can be an excellent tool to build relationships with those whose location to us would not make it otherwise possible.

Grateful #6: naptime

Naptime, enough said!

Crocker Art Museum

I went to the Crocker Art Museum for the first time today. I went with friends from church as a playdate. I didn't actually get to see much art since I had the kids, but Oliver loved it. We did the Wee Wednesdays which is the group every Wednesday for young children. They showed the kids a painting and read a story and talked about warm and cool colors and went around and tried to find warm and cool colors on other paintings. Oliver looked at statues and told me what the statues looked like to him. It was really a neat experience because I thought he would be too young to appreciate or even pay attention to the pieces, but he surprised me. Then of course I had to go see Uncle Eric who is the executive chef at the cafe there, and had lunch with him. It was so fun to see Oliver interested in art when I thought he would have no interest at all.

Grateful #5: Ready to wear clothes

Imagine before you can wear a shirt, you have to first shear the sheep, pull the wool, spin the wool, weave the fabric, cut the fabric and then finally sew, by hand. Now, I just go to the store, shop the clearance rack and find a couple pairs of jeans, each for only $9 (yes I went shopping today and found some jeans at Old Navy today for only $9). I know that's two posts in a row about modern conveniences, but I think they are pretty darn amazing. So I am totally grateful for ready to wear clothing that fits and looks good, and is inexpensive.

Grateful #4: Refridgerator and Freezer

I love that I can just go grocery shopping once a week or even once every 2 weeks and throw my perishables in the fridge or freezer and know that they will last a while until I can use them. I think back to the days before fridges and try to imagine having to go to the market everyday for your daily food, or having a ice house and having to cut out an ice block from the river and dragging it to the ice house, covering it with hay, and hope it lasts a while. We are so lucky to have this amazing appliance that keeps our food fresh and cold. Next time you open that door, just hink about what you would do without it.

Grateful #3: Glasses

Yes Hillary, I'm copying this from you.

After reading my SIL blog post today, I realized how grateful I am for MY glasses. I just got my first pair this past July. I've been needing glasses forever, but we haven't had the insurance, or I've been pregnant, or any number of excuses you can think of. So now that we have insurance and I'm not pregnant, I decided that now is the time! I love being able to see! I'm nearsighted so I couldn't see things far away. So watching TV, movies, trying to read street signs were all pretty difficult. Then I got my glasses and TA-dA, suddenly everything had details. I remember watching the newest Harry Potter movie and wondering, "When did Lupin get all those scars?" Now when I take my glasses off I realize how bad my eyes really are and wonder how I got along without them. Next step, Laser eye surgery?!

Grateful #2: Friends

I feel so blessed to be in a ward with so many friends! I have made friends with the women not just my own age but with the women of all ages, and I have my callings to thank for that (Which I might do as a later post.) But I am really especially grateful for the friends I have made through playgroups. These women have kept me sane on the long days when Nolan is at work. Sometimes those days feel like they will never end. But then the thought of going to go play with my friends, and the kids get to go play with their friends, makes my day a lot easier. We talk on facebook, and vent if we've had a hard time, or give each other tips about kids. I've never met a more accepting group of women. And as more young mothers/ women come into the ward they just join right into the group. I love it! It's like a group of ready made friends.

Thank you friends!

Grateful #1: Nolan

So my unoriginal self is going to copy countless others and do a gratitude post for the month of Thanksgiving. I don't know if I will actually do one for each day of the month, but I'll try!

I'm pretty much grateful for my husband everyday. But if I posted about him everyday that would probably get pretty boring (but trust me I could find 30 things about him to be grateful for!).

Here are just a few:

-He is the best father ever! (I think he is a better father than I am mother)

-He works super hard at a job that he doesn't love.

-He lets me be a stay at home mom even though he would love to be a stay at home dad.

-He is an incredible husband.

-He tells me I'm beautiful all the time, and lets me know just how desirable he finds me.

-He tells me I should spend more money.

-He tells me I should take more "me" time.

-When I've had a bad day he always makes it better.

-He puts me first.

-He can always make me laugh.

-I love to talk to him, and hear what he has to say.

Ok, so maybe that is more than a few. But seriously, if you think you have a better husband, you would be wrong. He is my best friend, and he tells me that I am his all the time. I don't know what I would do without him.

Halloween: Pumpkin Patch and Fairy Tale Town

We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm on Saturday! We have been going to this place seriously since I was a little girl. It has changed so much since then however. When I was little they only had a few slides and a hay ride to the pumpkins. Now there is so much to do there. But it still holds a place in my heart as the place to go get pumpkins. We have started a new tradition where we take pictures of our children on top of the giant pumpkins that they grow there. Here's Iliana in her pumpkin clothes.

Iliana's playing with grandma's pumpkin earrings. They are so cute together.

Oliver and Sam love to play together. Mostly they love to argue over whose item is whose. (The "mine!" game) But when they sat on pumpkins together, it was just too cute to pass up. By the end of the day we had ridden the train, petted some goats, watched them make cider, bought said cider, bought fudge, picked out pumpkins, went for a hay ride, went down the slide a million times, and fell asleep.

Later that night, Nolan and I took the kids to Fairy Tale Town to their safe Halloween event. Earlier, I had asked Oliver what costume he wanted for Halloween. He had said, "candy." So here's his costume, a Trick or Treat bag. He has a pocket in the front for his candy. Everyone loved his costume! Once he realized he could put candy in his pocket he was more than willing to wear his costume.

This is the castle. I forgot to mention that the theme was Harry Potter! Which is the only reason why we went. Look at the spooky dementors surrounding the castle!

This is Oliver in the room of Requirement.

These horse are always at Fairy Tale Town. He was disappointed that they didn't move.

Iliana was asleep for most of the time. She finally woke up! Here she is in her costume. Our theme this year is the 50's. Grandma Debbie made her little skirt. The event included trick or treating and everyone handing out candy was dressed like hogwarts students. It wasn't all that spectacular, but it was fun to do together as a family, and it wasn't too crowded for the first hour and we found parking really close. We did make it to Divination class and Nolan read my tea leaves. He only predicted bad things in my future. Boo! Oliver just wanted to pour out water out of the tea pot. Potions class always had too long of a line to go to it. So for the most part we really just went around and got candy and let Oliver play.

Some Funny stories

Oliver climbed into the high chair the other day. I kept asking him if he wanted me to take him out and he said no, so I kept washing the dishes. Eventually it was quiet over where he was so I looked at him and there he was asleep.

Iliana thought it was hillarious for me to put glasses on her.

Oliver is learning his ABC's. This is the best video we've gotten of him. Unfortunately it shows him pushing his sister over so she will stop playing with the toy.

Nolan and I have decided that our children are survivors. Today gave me more proof of that. While I was in my room getting dressed, my children were up to their usual mischief. When I came out, the fridge door was open and Iliana was sitting on the floor with a tupperware container of leftovers, the lid off and she was happily eating. Unfortunately I did not get a picture.

The other day, Nolan was singing to Oliver as he was changing his diaper. Oliver told him, "daddy, no singing." We had a really good laugh about that one.

San Francisco Zoo and Beach trip

We went to the San Francisco zoo for Oliver's 2nd birthday. I know this was back in May, but I promised myself I would get around to writing about it. Oliver loves animals so we decided that his gift would be to go to the San Francisco zoo since they have a lot more animals than our zoo here. And you can't go to San Francisco without going to the beach! We invited my family to come with us and so we had a very large group with us. The first animals we saw were giraffes and the kids loved it! One of the best parts of the day was when Oliver walked by the gift shop, saw the stuffed animals, grabbed one, then walked out and said "thank you!" Dad got to see 2 American Bald Eagles and that just about made his day. They also had a train for the kids to ride and they loved it! Oliver just about jumped out of Mom's arms in order to get on. As we went through the tunnel bubbles came out. One of the really cool animals was the rhino. We got to see him play with a ball, and it showed what a really powerful animal a rhino is.

After the zoo we went to the beach. It was so cold! Whoever decided that California had warm sunny beaches was clearly wrong. But as least we got our feet wet, which for me is a requirement if you ever visit a beach. Oliver did like the ocean, but Iliana stayed in the car with Nolan.

Iliana: 1 year old

Iliana is now 1 year old. Here's her stats from her doctor appointment:

Weight: 22lb 11.3 oz. (73.89%)

Height: 2' 6.5" (87.43%)

Head circumference: 18.27" (83.44%)

She can say:

bottle

dog

mom

duck

bye

She's walking more than crawling now, but still falls a lot. She loves bath time, and won't sit still for anything except to eat. She loves to be held, but only if the person holding her is standing up. She is great at throwing tantrums, and climbing on everything.

Date with Oliver

Yesterday I went on a Mother/Son date with Oliver. He is a member of the Caboose club with the California Railroad museum and so once a year he gets an invitation to their ice cream social which was yesterday. Luckily Nolan's schedule just changed to where he gets Saturdays off so he could stay home with Iliana. So we left and drove to Old sac. We managed to find a car that pulling out of a metered parking spot (which wind up being cheaper than a garage) that was really close to where the train ride was, which also happened to be right in front of a peruvian shop. As I looked over at the shop I saw a sign that said that they sold Inca Kola there, which is something that Nolan loved from his mission. I got really excited, and decided to get him some while we were there. So we wondered over to the tent, got our train tickets and stickers. While we wandered we saw people dressed up in olde timie costumes and they were totally in character. Some were marchers of the women's suffrage movement, some were anti-slavery speach makers, there was actually a guy wearing a barrel with suspenders. We got our ice creams, and walked around some more while we waited for our train. We stopped to listen to some singers which Oliver really liked, bought the Inca Kolas, and then when Oliver saw the car, he got really sad because he thought we were going to go home. I told him we weren't going home yet, and we made our way to the line for the train. Since we had a lot of time and no one else was in line yet, we walked over to the Delta King and looked at the river, and then went back over to the train. While we waited I called Nolan to tell him that I bought him a surprise because I couldn't stand to wait, but I didn't tell him what it was. I was so excited. The train came and as always Oliver was so excited to go on the choochoo. We got to go on the outside car, so Oliver got to stand up and walk around. By the time we got to the end of the line, he was done. They switched the engine to the other end, and he was so tired, so he just curled up on my lap.

Last time with Emily

One of my best friends, Emily is moving next week, all the way across the country. She has lived in the Sacramento area her whole life and has never been to the capitol, so as our last outing with our kids we went downtown.


Apparently it's Carl's Jr. 70th anniversary and so they were giving away free burgers. There was a super long line, and not worth waiting for with 3 young kids.

We love our kids.

The debut of my new glasses! They don't look half bad in this picture.

Oliver loved the bears.

Kaidan did not want to be in his stroller any more.

awww.

Lunchtime! With coupons of course.

Oliver tried to use chopsticks.

I'm going to miss you Emily.

Lake trip

For the past few summers we've gone to the lake to go swimming. This year we decided to go to Rancho Seco since it's warmer. The pictures aren't really in order.



Here's Oliver ready to go on a canoe for the first time.


Matthew's having so much fun.

Sam is having so much fun!

We loaded everything up in the canoes and canoed AALLLLL the way over to where those people are. Whew, it was quite the trip.

hmmmm, snack time!

So much fun!

Texas Trip part 2

The plan for that Wednesday was to go to the Houston Zoo. As we were on the freeway it became obvious that as the line for the zoo exit was already long, that maybe the zoo was not going to be the best idea. Then as we got off the freeway, and couldn't even get close to the zoo, we decided that maybe we should go somewhere else. So we wound up at the children's museum. Melissa, Oliver, Iliana, Rogan, and I wound up in the toddler area upstairs, while Rachel, Sarah, Roxy, and Roscoe wandered the rest. It was also crowded but but still fun. The toddler area had slides and mirrors, and cars, and blocks, and even a little area for the infants with bumpos. Then we went outside where they had a water area and the kids played in the water and got wet. On the way home, we stopped and got shaved ice again. The afternoon we relaxed and watched TV and Rachel made us barbecued pulled pork for dinner. Then we watched scary movies, since Rich doesn't like to watch them so Rachel likes to watch them when we're around.





Thursday was St. Patricks day. Rach and Rich do this holiday really big in their house, so I made sure my kids had their green on. Rachel bought really cute hats for Iliana and Rogie. That day we went to this awesome wild animal park where you ride on this tram and the animals come up to the tram and you can feed them. This was my favorite part of the trip. As soon as we pulled in, we had an animal come into the car! And it was my first time ever seeing a rhino (which was far away, but pretty awesome). I was a little nervous for Oliver since he was pretty scared of animals for a while before this, and I didn't know how he would react when they came up close. But for a while before the trip I was prepping him with animal books. He did pretty good and only got a little nervous. He threw the food to the animals though, instead of letting them eat from the bucket. The part he loved the most, however, was the free pony ride. As soon as he saw the ponies, he wanted to go on them. He calls horses "sit theres" or "yee haws" and they always say "yee haw" and that ride was the best thing ever! He was so sad when he had to get off. Then we went to the little petting zoo area that was right next to the giraffes. At one point Oliver tried to squish through the fence to get to the giraffes. Then we went to Chikfila for lunch, and the kids played in the playground more than they ate lunch. That afternoon we relaxed, played in the yard, and rested. One the afternoons, we skyped Anne, but I'm not sure which one. That afternoon, Mom came to Texas! She was staying for a month to care for the kids while Rachel worked, so her stay overlapped with ours. That night we went to the movies (we saw Red Riding Hood) at this theater where they serve you dinner while you watch the movie. Which is pretty awesome, and I wish they had one here. It was nice to spend with the girls without the kids. By the time we got home Rich had the kids all in bed!

Friday was our last day. I packed in the morning, and then we went to breakfast where they have giant food. Then we all got ready to go, said our goodbyes, and left for the airport. We said good bye to Rachel at the airport. We went through security, waited, boarded, flew (me in front, with Iliana, Melissa and Sarah behind with Oliver). Oliver had a lot of energy this flight, so he did a lot of jumping and kicking and not even Spongebob would keep him still. Then we got into the San Diego airport which has to be the lamest airport ever, where you have to go through security again after you land before you get to the next plane. So we got through security where there was a super long line, and we were a little worried that we wouldn't make it, but we didn't need to worry, since our plane was delayed and delayed, which then turned out very badly since it was delayed for a couple of hours. I spent the time chasing Oliver around the airport while he ran and ran,and tried to lift poles and said "heavy" and basically had a blast. I figured this would tire him out for the flight. Finally we got to board, and we were on our way home. I sat in front again, Oliver fell quickly asleep, Iliana fell asleep, and we had a quiet flight in the dark. As we flew into Sacramento we saw that it was raining, and raining hard. We landed, and went to get our luggage. Nolan surprised us there. I had to do a double take because he had shaved his beard and mustache. We went outside and it was cold and pouring! We were not dressed for this type of weather. It was so nice to be home and with my husband.

Texas Trip

This year my sisters and I decided that we would take a trip to visit our sister and her family who lives in near Houston. Nolan did a good job of working hard to help save up money, and I asked for money for my birthday and Christmas to go toward the trip. We were able to save up enough for me to go with the kids, Nolan couldn't go because he couldn't get the time off of work, and we planned to go in March when Rachel would be off of work because of Spring Break. We waited and waited for plane tickets to go down, and it looked like we might not go after all, and then about 3 weeks before the planned date, the tickets went down in price and we bought them! Well, my sister bought them, and then I paid her back. Luckily, I didn't have to pay for my kids since they were both under 2. We left on a Monday evening. Nolan took the day off of work so he could take us to the airport, and so we packed up in Mom's van, picked up Melissa and Sarah, and drove to the airport. There we said good-bye and went inside. We checked our luggage, and proceeded to go toward security. 3 adults, 2 children, several carryons, and airport security. Recipe for trouble. Luckily having 1 more adult than there are children makes things a little easier. So between removing shoes, and holding children, and setting off the alarms, and being patted down, it was just a tiny bit stressful. I know that being patted down sounds terrible, but the agents were very apologetic and seemed to really not want to do it, but they have no control over the rules; they are not in charge. Do I like it? No. Do I think they should profile? yes. Did those individual agents have any more control over the situation than I did? no. They are given the rules and they have to follow them. If we want to make a change then we need to elect different representatives in government. So armed with the iPad, Spongebob, fruitsnacks, toys, cookies, etc we boarded the plane. We flew from Sacramento to LAX. This flight was very easy. Oliver fell asleep. We all tried to sit on the same row but were told that each row has only 5 air masks. So Sarah sat in the row in front of us. Iliana began to cry just as we were about to take off so I nursed her as the plane took off. Since this was only an hour flight, it was really fast, and were getting off soon. We hung around LAX for a little bit, until our next flight to Houston. We boarded, this time I sat across the aisle with Iliana while Melissa and Sarah sat with Oliver in another row. We finally made it to Houston sometime after 11pm where Rachel was waiting for us. Melissa and Sarah picked up the rental car and drove to the hotel, while I drove with Rachel to her house where I was staying. Rachel was nice enough to ask around and was able to borrow 2 carseats for me to use while we were there. We got to Rachel's place and I got the kid's ready for bed, but with the 2 hour time difference and the recent daylight savings time change, we were really 3 hours earlier then them and so my kids did not fall asleep until 2:30 am, and by that time I was crying because I was so tired and just wanted to sleep, and I missed Nolan.

The next day, Tuesday, we decided to just take it easy. So we slept in, got ready slowly, and when Melissa and Sarah got there, we went for Hawaiian shaved ice! hmmmm. Delicious. I only get these once a year when the state fair comes around so this was a good treat. The kids sat on this bench that was practically on the ground and were so cute just sitting there eating their shaved ice. Even Iliana got to try. Then we went back to Rachel's, played outside, then left the kids with Rich, and went shopping. By the end of the trip we all wound up with the same wallet. I bought some costume jewelry to dress up for a party Nolan and I went to when we got back. Then we had dinner, and had a Blue Bell ice cream party. Roscoe kept taking the cartons and acted like they were all his. hmmm, ice cream.

Oliver's birth

I don't think I've written out the story of Oliver's birth, and since he just turned 2, here it goes.

I was 38 weeks along, and had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia a few weeks before (although later they decided that maybe they were wrong and I just had hypertension. I could have told them that since I only had high blood pressure and there are other symptoms that would have indicated pre-eclampsia. I'm still tiffed at that) and so my doctor decided that they should induce me. I was admitted on Monday May 4th, no where near close to being in labor. They started the induction process with trying to soften my cervix, and I was not allowed to get out of bed at all because they had me on an anti-seizure medicine which basically made my muscles too weak to walk. Finally after a whole day of trying to soften, they decided I was at a 2. WARNING: this next part is really weird. They stuck an uninflated balloon up my cervix then they inflated it and pulled it out which got me to a 4, just the right number to start the pitcocin. So they hooked me up and it started. The contractions began and were not too bad at first, I had my mom and Nolan there. Then a little while later they broke my water, probably around 3pm on Tuesday, which really got the contractions going and painful. They just became more and more painful and then it started to feel like it was a never ending barrage of contractions. I asked for an epidural, which didn't come until an hour later. They got me set up and jabbed the needle in, which I flinched at, and then I felt a cold wash go through me, but no relief from the pain. They told me to wait for it to work, but it never did, so they gave me some more, which still didn't work. Eventually they gave me a button to push to give myself some more, but I could only use it every 10 minutes. I pushed it on the very next contraction, and then threw it away from me because it was useless. Finally they decided that the epidural just wasn't going to work because I was progressing too fast, so I just started to cry waiting for it to be over. Sometime around 7pm, my sister called saying that she just got off of work and asked if she could just come then, being in the middle of contractions I just didn't really care, so come she did. Finally around 7:30 they told me I was at a 10 and could start pushing. So I pushed and pushed, and then he was almost here, and when I tried to take a break, it hurt more not to push then to push so I kept going. When he started crowning they told me to stop, and let him come out more slowly, they also used their fingers to stretch out my cervix to help prevent tearing. I was actually amazed at how much control I had over those muscles to get him out. Then his head was out, and the rest of him just slid right out. Oh my gosh, what a relief! It was over. I tried to push the placenta out, but I was too tired so I gave up, and just looked at my little boy. I counted his fingers and toes, and just looked at him. Everyone was already at the hospital when he came out, so basically my room was full after he came out. I was completely surrounded by the people I love, to welcome this new little person into the world. Then they stitched me up, and let me nurse him, which he took to immediately (indicative of what was to come). We stayed in the hospital until Thursday night, the worst experience of my life basically. So terrible that I hate to talk about it. But we had some nice visits from friends and family, and disgusting food that was almost inedible. It was such a relief to go home that I cried. We stopped at Jack in the Box on our way home, and then took a picture of Oliver in the bassinet to show how small he was.

I love my little man!

Oliver is 2!

My little man turned 2 a little bit ago, and I just want to talk about him. At his Dr. appt. here are his stats:

Weight: 30lb 6.8 oz (78%)

Height: 2'11.75" (84%)

Here is what he is doing:

-Can say 2-3 word phrases.

-Can pick up on a word after only hearing 1 or 2 times

- Can understand when I tell him to throw something in the trash or sink

- Wants candy or chocolate all the time and asks for with words.

- Favorite drinks are apple juice and milk.

- Favorite fruit is apples

- Favorite cartoons are Elmo and Spongebob

- Favorite animals are any that say Roar.

- Favorite activity is reading books.

- Favorite playground activity: swings

- Favorite place: outside

- Can climb out of his crib, so we switched to a toddler bed.

- Can climb ladders (scary!)

- Favorite food: fruit snacks

- Loves his cousin Sam

- Can recognize Mommy's and Daddy's clothes.

-Calls me Mama, and Nolan Daddy

- Will not fall asleep until 11pm.

I love my little man, but he sure does try my patience.

3rd anniversary

This year I did not want to do any of the planning for our anniversary and I wanted to be surprised with what Nolan could come up with. Yup, a big leap of trust to let your husband plan everything with no input from me. So we celebrated 2 days before our actual anniversary since it was on a Sunday this year. That day Nolan got off of work early, and got the kids ready for an overnighter with their cousins. We dropped them off at Brandon and Kami's and tried to go to dinner, but we ran out of time, so we got an ice cream cone at a place near where we were going, which was a play! We went to the Folsom Sutter street theater where we saw There Should Be Roses, which is this really cute play about an old man at a retirement home who breaks out in order to visit his wife's grave on their 60th anniversary. It was a comedy and very appropriate for the reason why we were out. It was such a tiny theater that it felt very intimate and private, and afterward the actors were outside so everyone could talk to them. We went home, where Nolan made me Mac and Cheese and hot dogs (no restuarants were open when we left the theater). Then we turned on Shutter Island, and I fell promptly asleep. Then we got up, stayed awake for a while, and then took naps, and didn't wake up til 1pm! Picked up the kids, hung out with Brandon and Kami, and came home. I love going to the theater, and it was such a nice surprise. Here's to a lifetime and beyond with my sweet husband.

Worries of a mother

It's hard to be a mother and not worry. Some worry is normal and good. Without worry we wouldn't try to improve and grow as a mother. However, it seems like a mother today has too much to worry about and we never do anything right.

It starts as soon as we see that plus sign on the stick. What if we don't eat right, read the right books, take the lamaze class, register for the right equipment, take the right vitamins, get enough exercise, get to all of our appointments, get enough sleep, etc, etc. And if we don't do everything right we feel like we've screwed up right from the beginning.

Then time to deliver. Natural or drugs, midwife or doctor. Vaginal, c-section, water birth, hospital, home... What is the right way?!

Then you have an infant. If you don't breastfeed them have you screwed them up for life, dooming them to a life of illness and obesity? Should you let them cry it out to sleep to learn independence? Co-sleeping (will you make them too dependent), pacifiers (will they suck on them for life?), thumb sucking (are they going to have crooked teeth forever? Looming orthodontia bills!). Is your carseat installed correctly? Have to see a fireman to make sure, cause we can't do it ourselves! Disposables vs. cloth. Will I ruin the environment single handedly with all my kids' diapers?

Starting solid food. If I start too early will it lead to obesity the rest of their lives? What should Istart with? What if they won't eat veggies? What foods are they not supposed to eat? There's too many to remember! Will starting with fruit rather than veggies really make them like sweets more, dooming them to always hate veggies?

Toddlerhood: Are they walking too late? Are they talking too late? Are they eating enough fruits and veggies? Are they eating too many sweets? Do I brush their teeth enough? Too much juice? Enough exercise? Am I reading to them enough? How do they compare to other children? Playing enough? Am I handling discipling correctly? Will they grow up to be hoodlums because I failed at discipline?

aaaaagggghhhhhhh! It's enough to drive a person insane! How are we supposed to do everything in a single day that we are supposed to be doing? Homecooked meals (heaven forbid we feed our children processed or restaurant food), exercise (us and them), breastfeeding, reading, playing, appointments, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, clothes shopping, bill paying, yard work, work, sleep, eat, baths, showers, clipping coupons, birthday parties, playdates, church, diaper changing, potty training, relaxing. But really, when do we have time for the last one? hobbies (Waht are those again?) date night (an endangered species)

There is just not enough time in the day to do everything. And it feels like we are attacked on all sides. We hear about how we are failing from dentist, doctors, magazines, internet, friends, family. Nothing we do is good enough, and there is always something we could be doing better, or doing something we shouldn't be doing, or something we're not doing that we should.

Good luck to all moms out there!

Echo and Mommy's little helper

Today Iliana had her echo to check on how she's doing. And everything looks good! Blood flow through the aorta is good,VSD is small, bicuspid valve is not leaky, and I was told that the vein leading from the brain to the heart is usually on the right, but hers is on the left! Who knew so many things could be different but still be ok. So we'll just keep watching with routine echo checkups. She was so cute during her appointment. She started licking the tech and the doppler wand with her super long tongue. She has no desire to move at all. She sometimes rolls over from front to back, but has never rolled over from back to front. But for the most part when I put her on her tummy she just lays there, but she doesn't scream at the floor at much as she used to. We got an exersaucer from my friend, and she really likes to play with the toys on it. Oliver likes to play in it too.

Oliver, in between ornery spells, has become such a good helper. On Saturday I wanted to do something with him to see how grown up he is, so we decided to try to make chex muddy buddies with him. Easy to make, and I gave him his own bowl and spoon to mix the cereal with chocolate and peanut butter. He didn't really get the hang of mixing it together, and really just wound up crushing it with his spoon. Then it was time to shake it up with powdered sugar in a bag. I thought he might just crush it some more, but he shook it up pretty well. The other day he saw that Iliana had spit up before I caught it, and by the time I noticed and got a towel, he had already gotten a towel and started to clean her up! I love my little man.

Solid food and terrible twos

In an attempt to stave off having to buy formula, we decided to try Iliana on solid foods on Sunday. We have had two attempts and they have not been successful. She wants to try but can't figure out how to swallow the food yet. Oliver likes to watch her eat, and then he thinks he wants some too, so I let him try rice cereal and he just made yucky faces. But he loves to feed it to his baby sister! It's his new favorite thing to do. So I think we're going to stop and try again in a few weeks. I have no problems using formula except the cost, and frankly I am tired of breastfeeding. I know all the benefits of it, and it's great for her and me, but oh, my, gosh, it hurts so much! This girls has the strongest suck ever! But I will keep breastfeeding to keep Iliana from getting sick, and to spare us the expense of formula.

Oliver has very much started his terrible twos even though he's only a year and a half. His favorite words right now are "mine" and "no". Oh my goodness some days are so hard! Sometimes I think to myself, I don't even like him. And then he does something so cute, or has a really good day to make up for the bad ones. Today is one of those good days. We went to the doctor's this morning for Iliana to get a syneges (sp?) shot, and then straight to a birthday party for a little boy in our ward, and he hasn't given me hardly any trouble. Then we came home he ate the rest of his breakfast, some lunch, and then played quietly while I started dinner, and did the dishes. It's heavenly when he behaves this way. On top of that, Iliana is taking a long nap. Life is good. He certainly can throw a tantrum though. Church has become a time when we try to teach him how to not jump on the bench instead of listening to the talks.

Family reunion?

So weddings and funerals are a way for my extended family to get together for a reunion. On a similar note, my grandmother died last Thursday after she was brought to the hospital. My uncle took her in because she stopped taking care of herself. There they found a mass in her heart, but since she was so frail, they decided not to run further tests. Later, on Thursday, things got worse really fast, and was suddenly she was gone. To me, this would be a relief for her. Now she gets to be with my grandfather, her mother, and sister. She will have her healthy body and mind again. So by Sunday night many on my Utah cousins were in town. So the older people, our parents, met at our grandma's house to discuss the funeral arrangements, while we young people met at my parent's house to talk and have fun. So we talked and had fun and ate "free" pancakes. Ok, so the story behind that is we were talking about where to eat on Monday, and Kathy said that we could go to IHOP and get $5 pancakes. I said that we could eat free pancakes here because there was a big bag of pancake mix sitting on Mom's counter. So as the night wore on we got hungry so we had pancakes. We also discovered that night how much alike we all were.



On monday we went to the Jelly Belly factory in order to entertain Michelle and Lua's children. Later that afternoon, I went with the Utah cousins to Old Sac and we wondered around and bought candy. Then we all went out to Golden Corral for dinner, and took up about a quarter of the restaurant. There we met up with Doug and Echael, and Michael, and Ben and Kim, who had come into town by then. Then we went to back to The House, and Julene had come into town. We discussed the funeral schedule for the next day, then went home.

The next morning (Tuesday) Nolan had to take Iliana to the doctor's to get her RSV shot (which they only offer on certain Tuesdays of each month, and require an appointment), while I took Oliver with me to the funeral. We got there a bit late, but in time for family prayer. At least I got there before the cousins who got lost using a GPS (Pam, and Kathy!). The funeral was very nice. AFter the funeral director locked the coffin he handed the key to Uncle Dave which I thought was very strange. Later I found out that Kathy had presented her dad when they were on their way to the funeral home, and so that was basically the only thing that worked. Uncle David gave the eulogy, but he had found Grandma's journal, and inside was an entry where she basically gave her life story; so he just read that. I thought that was cool, because then we got to hear about Grandma in her own words. Then we drove to the cemetery and Uncle Larry gave the dedicatory prayer. Then back to the church for lunch. It was nice to chat with everyone there (some had finally arrived that morning) and see a new baby that no one had known about! Then we went back to the House to have a small birthday for Kieran since it was her birthday that day.

The next few days were spent cleaning out Grandma's house. And man did it need cleaning! Grandma seemed to have spent the last few years just buying stuff from DI, and that's where most of it went back to.

kid updates

Iliana had her 4 month appointment today!
here are her stats:
13lbs. 14.2 oz (55%)
25 inches (76%)
head: 16.5 inches (75%)

Here is a little about her:
-she loves to laugh and smile at anyone who will pay attention to her.
-she hates tummy time
-I got her a bumbo to sit in, but she doesn't really like that either, but she does like it more than tummy time.
-she loves it when Oliver plays with her. Even when he squishes her face.
-has more clothes than she could ever use.
-rolled over a week ago but hasn't since.
-does not eat nearly as much as Oliver did.
-drools, a lot. (her clothes are always wet.)

Oliver is 20 months. Here is a little about him.
-loves his little sister. he gives her kisses all the time.
-can say: I don't want to, ice, eyes, nose, hair, up please, juice, water, mama, dada, Spongebob, watch, caca (his word for bird. I think he's really saying cockatiel), Peter, car, shoe, poo, book, baby, outside.
-was able to jump with both feet off the ground recently
-is brave enough to go down big slides
-can climb a ladder
-still has trouble going down stairs
-makes growling and monkey noises
-gives hugs and blows kisses
-makes us laugh everyday

Turning and nodding

Iliana turned over for the first time yesterday. Nolan helped her the first time, then I flipped her back over and then she did it by herself. She turned from her stomach to her back. Scream at the floor time (which is what Nolan calls tummy time) should get more interesting now.

Oliver is getting to be such a big boy. This week he has started to nod his head. I noticed him today just putting raisins into a trash bag. I asked him if he was putting raisins in the bag and he nodded! woohoo! Maybe it will be easier to know what he wants now. Poor thing has also been sick this week. But I got to have a cuddly boy for a while.

Cars and skates

Last Saturday, we finally had time to go car shopping. We had been down to one car since the Mustang was stolen the Sunday before Iliana was born. Luckily we've been able to borrow my father-in-law's truck once Nolan went back to work. We dropped the kids off at my in-laws, and went for it. We stopped at one place and didn't find any we liked in our price range, but I did find a nice convertible that I liked. The second place we went to didn't have anything we could agree on. So we went to a place that we drive past all the time. We found a lot of cars in our price range, that we liked. But we saw a black Ford Taurus that drew us in. It only had 63,000 miles on it, and looked nice, and it was within our budget. So we looked around some more since we weren't entirely sure yet. I found a minivan for $20 thousand that had a sunroof, built-in navigation system, and DVD player. That was really not in our budget. Nolan found a truck that he fell in love with, but it was even more expensive than the minivan. So we fantasized a bit, and said that we would just get both cars. Then we came back to reality and looked at the Ford again. So we talked to the guy there, and found out the gas mileage was decent, so we went for a test drive. We would up going over to Beth and Mike's so Mike could check it out for us. He said it was a good car even with how old it was (it's a 1999). So we drove it back, and with some help from Mike talked down the total price from $8 (post taxes and fees) to $5700. We had most of the money in the bank, so we wrote a check, and then discussed how to pay the rest. Nolan's parents had offered to help us back when Iliana was in the hospital, so I told Nolan that we should take them up on the offer, and then we could pay them back instead of taking out a loan. So we called them up and they transferred the money into our account. So we wrote out a second check with a contract saying that they wouldn't cash it until a week later. So we drove away with our new car, got to my in-laws to pick up the kids, and then realized that we left my car at the dealership! oops... So we drove back and grabbed our car with very red faces.

So we picked up the kids, and drove over to my parents house. I was trying to keep from Nolan what the plans for the rest of our night were, but Dad pretty much told him right when we walked in the door. We had been trying to go ice skating for a while. We wanted to go to the outdoor rink which is seasonal, and so we were quickly running out of time. We had tried in December, but it was raining. We tried again last Wednesday, but it closed earlier than I thought, and by the time Nolan got home from work it was too late. We finally got to go Saturday night. We got there, laced up our skates, and got on the ice. I had only been once, and Nolan had never been at all, but he had experience on roller blades. So of course Nolan was good right away and started off. I clung to the wall a lot until I came to other people on the wall who wouldn't move. He really just would lap me over and over again, but Nolan pretty much is good at whatever he tries. Every once in a while he would slow down and do a lap with me. I only fell once, but my calf still hurts from it. I did manage to do one lap without touching the wall or relying on Nolan so I was pretty proud of myself.

I love my husband so much!

Christmas

This year we got to have 3 Christmases (sp?) We spent Christmas Eve with Nolan's Dad's side of the family in the early evening. We ate dinner, and visited and opened presents from his grandmother. His uncle gives a blank card to each of the guys, and each has a certain amount of money. 1 has $50 and the rest have $30. Whoever gets the $50 wins! This year, we won, and I chose the card. Oliver got books, and a train from Great Grandma Rosalee. Iliana got clothes. This Christmas was special since Iliana is the first girl born on my Father-in-law's side since Grandma Rosalee. After that we went to Nolan's parents house to spend the rest of the evening with my mother-in-law's side of the family. I love how close I've grown to all of Nolan's family. Grandma Rosalee treats me like a granddaughter. I joke and play around with his cousins. His grandma Wong is still a bit scary and intimidating. So at Nolan's parents we ate more snack type food, and then after 11pm we began to open presents. We do a name exchange with this side, but everyone gives gifts to the kids. Oliver got a big Mr. Potato Head with a whole potato family inside, a puzzle, coloring book, markers, and a Wiggles video. Iliana got a gloworm, clothes (of course), and a teddy bear. We finally got home around 1am, totally exhausted.

The next day (Christmas) we stayed home and had our own little Christmas with just us. I videoed most of the morning while trying to get over a migraine. But Oliver seemed to understand how to open presents, and had fun. Iliana of course had no idea what was going on. Santa got them both pajamas and hats and mittens. Iliana got her first holiday barbie, and Oliver got blocks and a play, musical table. After breakfast, we let Oliver eat anything he wanted. So we just relaxed and enjoyed each other all day. I decided to make a fancy dinner so we had roast beef, crab stuffed mushrooms, cheesy potatoes, and rolls. We didn't like the mushrooms very much, and the cheesy potatoes just would not turn out, and the roast didn't cook during the time the cookbook said it would. So the roast beef turned out to be pretty rare, so we cut off the ends, and continued cooking it while we began eating. The rolls were tasty. So dinner wasn't exactly a disaster, but it wasn't what I envisioned.

The next Saturday we had Christmas with my family. Since it was New Years Day we didn't start until 10am. We started with a visit from Santa Claus, who talked to each child and gave them each gift. Then we exchanged gifts among the siblings (we draw names) and gave our gifts to the children. Then we took a break (you need a break after this because there are so many of us). Then we opened gifts from Dad, who went out of control with spending this year. Mom, I think, was pretty uncomfortable with how much he spent, but he was happy with it. The whole day we spent eating since the table is just full of food. The men and children all got marshmallow guns, and so the spent part of the afternoon having a marshmallow fight outside. Afterward, the ground was covered with marshmallows. We also got to skype Rachel and Rich since they couldn't make it to California this year.

I love this time of year. It's a time to spend with family, give gifts and practice baking and cooking skills. I'm so glad that some of the out-of-towners were able to come, and sad for those who couldn't. We also got to see Jason blessed that Sunday in Kim's mom's ward, where another friend of ours also happened to be blessing their baby. So it was a 2 for 1 kind of deal.

Top 10 in 2010

Ok, so I'll admit it. I'm not the most original person in the world. So I'm copying this idea.
These are not in any order or rank. Some are not really "events" just some of my favorite things from this year.

- Iliana was born on Sept. 16 after only 3 1/2 hours of labor
-Bringing Iliana home after her surgery.
-Iliana's laughs and smiles. Seriously, she has the best smile.
-Oliver's hugs. He's just started this, and they are so nice.
-So many babies born. I got 4 new nephews this year alone. There were about 16 babies born in our ward this year alone. It's hard to keep track since so many move in and out.
-Going to the Oakland temple for the first time for our 2 year anniversary.
-Oliver walking
-Oliver talking
-Finding out how much everyone loves and supports us while in the hospital with Iliana.
-A good friend of ours got to go through the temple and leave on a mission. We'll miss him.